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Chinese provincial-level governments approved the construction of coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 8.63 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2022, nearly half the amount seen in all of 2021, research from Greenpeace East Asia’s Beijing office shows on Wednesday.
While it is unclear whether such data is true or false, several Western media outlets have published articles saying China has ramped up approvals for coal-fired power plants, trying to create an illusion that China is returning to the coal age, and taking the chance to criticize China’s “big contribution” to climate change.
Fossil fuel is the primary cause of climate change. As the energy woes deteriorated this year in Europe, some EU countries have announced plans to fire up coal plants. An increase in the use of coal has raised concerns over global warming in the West. Unfortunately, every time when the West talks about climate change, China is invariably mentioned. There is no exception this time.
Chinese leaders said last year that the country will limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), but it doesn’t mean China will stop the approval of new coal-fired power plants. China’s own rhythm in developing the economy and coal-related industries should not be derailed by Western media hype over climate change issues.
China has long identified the urgency to take global coordinated efforts to tackle climate change and shouldered its responsibility as a responsible major country. China has pledged to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. China’s commitment has injected strong impetus into the process of global governance and has won wide recognition.
It should be noted that as a developing country, these proposed goals represent China’s firm determination in terms of both the extent of emission reduction and the time to realize the goal. From peak carbon dioxide emissions to carbon neutrality, it will take the EU roughly 60 years, the US 45 years, and China plans to take 30 years.
China has a clear timetable for green development and is making steady progress. According to the 14th Five-Year Development Plan for Renewable Energy, in order to finally achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China has set a task requirement for non-fossil energy consumption to account for about 20 percent by 2025, and set renewable energy consumption reaches the target of about 1 billion tons of standard coal by the same year.
The share of China’s coal consumption in total energy consumption has declined in recent years. By the end of 2020, the proportion of coal-fired power installed capacity in the total installed capacity was 49.1 percent, falling below the 50-percent line for the first time. In 2021, the total installed capacity of non-fossil energy exceeded coal power for the first time.
In the context of the global energy crisis that many developed countries advocating global environmental protection have to reactivate the abandoned coal power projects, it is normal for China’s energy structure to slightly weight on coal usage in the first half of the year, but there is currently no evidence that China’s overall coal-fired power development has been “out of line.”
China’s green development has its own pace. It should not be bothered by the Western blame game. To complete its energy transition and emission reduction targets on time is the best response to such noise.
Climate change is a global issue, and the next decade will be a critical period for climate action to reshape the global economy. To solve the problem, it is meaningless to accuse China. What all parties need to do is to take their own responsibility to enhance cooperation and make concerted efforts.
